The Beatles

Profession: Band
Place/Date of Birth: Liverpool, 1960–1970
Associated with: George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr

The diamond wedding anniversary of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be marked in October.

Julietta Edgar, head of special stamps at the Royal Mail, said: "Special stamps mark great moments, famous anniversaries and important cultural themes.

"They are miniature pieces of art and history rolled into one, and this year’s stamp programme promises some really stunning images."

Sale ’record’ for Beatles album cover - Dec 27 2006
An album cover signed by all four Beatles as a gift for George Harrison’s sister has sold at auction in the US for more than £60,000.

The sale, to an unidentified buyer, is believed to be a record price for a signed Beatles album purchased at a public sale, says Mark Zakarin, president of the online auction company ItsOnlyRockNRoll.com.

The exact price, with the buyer’s commission, was 115,228.82 dollars (£60,650).

Bidding began at £13,000. The copy of Meet The Beatles, the band’s first US release on Capitol Records, was put up for sale by George’s sister, Louise. The sale was held on Friday.

George wrote above his signature: "To Lou with love from ’Brother’!!"

John Lennon’s inscription read: "To Lou many love from John Lennon X." Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr expressed similar feelings when all four signed the album cover while aboard a train to Washington for a 1964 concert.

Beatles winning the Super Monday battle - Nov 20 2006
Music legends The Beatles are edging ahead in the biggest battle of the bands seen in years.

The Beatles’ Love album is going head to head with Oasis’ greatest hits, Stop The Clocks, and new releases from U2 and Westlife, in the charts this week.

And just hours after the shops opened, HMV have announced the Beatles are in the lead - which could give them another No 1 spot, 36 years after they split.

But the gap isn’t huge - they’ve sold just 200 more copies than Oasis. U2’s 18 Songs is in third place, while Westlife are also in the running with their Love Album in what HMV has dubbed ’Super Monday’.

The four groups are expected to sell well over a million copies between them during the next few weeks.

HMV’s Gennaro Castaldo said: "Based on initial sales, it looks like first day honours may just go to The Beatles, which comes as no surprise given the nature of their fanbase, but it may be that Oasis will sell more over the week to go to No 1, while U2 and Westlife will aim to shift more copies over the Christmas period as a whole."

However, the Christmas market is set to hot up even more next Monday, when Take That release Beautiful World.

Gerrano added: "Watch out for Take That, though, who might trump them all with their comeback album next week, to make it a ’Take That Christmas’."

Contract price - May 04
A contract between Brian Epstien and The Beatles has fetched an astounding amount at auction.

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